Photo: Getty Images
The Band's Robbie Robertson has passed away at the age of 80. According to Variety, the prominent Canadian musician and vocalist passed away on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by family. Management released a statement regarding the death of the beloved icon.
“Robbie was surrounded by his family at the time of his death, including his wife, Janet, his ex-wife, Dominique, her partner Nicholas, and his children Alexandra, Sebastian, Delphine, and Delphine’s partner Kenny. He is also survived by his grandchildren Angelica, Donovan, Dominic, Gabriel and Seraphina. Robertson recently completed his fourteenth film music project with frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Six Nations of the Grand River to support a new Woodland Cultural Center.”
An exact cause of death was not revealed, but it was noted that Robertson suffered from a "long illness" until his very last moments.
According to the Band's official website, Robertson was born on July 5, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario. He was first exposed to live music at the young age of 5 while visiting the Six Nations Reservation (his mother's childhood home). He eventually began taking guitar lessons from a cousin, and later dropped out of school to pursue music. By 1958, Robertson had found a spot in rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins' band "The Hawks." The group parted ways with Hawkins, and went on to support Bob Dylan on his iconic world tour that spanned from 1955 to 1956. Robertson even wrote one of Dylan's most popular hits, "The Weight," released in 1974. The Hawks, led by Robertson and renamed "the Band" in the late 1960s, went on to become their own act, releasing well-known LP's such as Music From Big Pink, and a self-titled album. The Band parted ways in 1976 and got together one last time for a live farewell gig in San Francisco, filmed by prominent film director Martin Scorsese and later released as a CD booklet titled, The Last Waltz.
Robertson's talents extended far beyond rock music. He continued to work with Scorsese throughout the years, creating compositions for films such as Raging Bull, The Color Of Money, and King of Comedy. It was not until 1987 that Robertson released his first self-titled solo album, featuring, "Fallen Angel," "Broken Arrow," and "Sweet Fire of Love," to name a few hits. One of Robertsons' last big projects was teaming up with Native American group, "the Red Road Ensemble" to compose a song collection for a documentary series in 1994.
His memory will live on through his lyrics and his unforgettable contributions to the music world.